Confess your involvement in a cartel

Have you made arrangements with your competitors? Or do you exchange information, for example about prices, markets, customers or contracts? If so, your activities are then considered a cartel. Cartels harm consumers and other companies. That is why the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) takes actions against cartels. One option, of course, would be to just wait until ACM finds out about it. In that case, you can expect a hefty fine. ACM can impose fines on companies and on individuals involved.

You had better hurry

Have you concluded cartel agreements with other companies? If so, you have the opportunity to come clean by confessing your involvement in a cartel to ACM. This is called a leniency request. The sooner you file such a request, the lower the fine is.

Leniency request

Are you considering confessing your involvement in a cartel? Please contact ACM’s Leniency Office for more information. If you so desire, any contact with the Leniency Office can be treated as confidential. Should you, after contacting the Leniency Office, decide not to file a leniency request, the conversation between you and the leniency officer will remain between just the two of you.

Please note

Are you busy preparing a leniency request? Be sure to keep this a secret.

No fine

If you are the first party that confesses its involvement in a cartel, you will not be fined. This applies to both the company and to the employees involved.

Fine reductions

If you are not the first party that confessess its involvement in a cartel, but you do have useful information and you fully cooperate with ACM, you may be imposed a much lower fine. The reduction may be as high as 50 percent of the original fine. The exact reduction depends on the timing and the usefulness of the evidence you provide ACM with.